How to Make Cold Brew Coffee (Iced Coffee) Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

FAQs

How do you make cold brew coffee for beginners? ›

Steps for Making Cold Brew Coffee

Combine the grounds with water, then let it steep overnight, or for around 12 hours. During this time, the coffee slowly infuses into the water, creating a strong, concentrated brew. Strain the next morning, and you're ready to go.

Remember: most people agree that a 1:15 to 1:18 ratio is ideal for balanced strength for regular coffee. However, some people like to drink their cold brew coffee a little stronger—around a 1:10 to 1:14 ratio—because once you add ice (and some of it melts), you end up at a balanced strength.

If you have a 2-quart jar, simply double the amounts offered above. If you have an extra-large French press like I do, you can use 5 ounces of coffee (about 1 1/4 cups whole coffee beans turned into about 2 1/2 cups coarsely-ground coffee) and 5 cups water.

Cold-brewed coffee is actually dirt simple to make at home using a Mason jar and a sieve. You just add water to coffee, stir, cover it and leave it out on the counter overnight.

While it's best to grind your coffee beans just before brewing for maximum freshness, you can use pre-ground coffee if that's what you have on hand. Just make sure it's a coarse grind.

I prefer a slightly less intense cold brew concentrate, so I usually use ¾ cup coffee grounds for every 4 cups of water.

For cold brew, you want to aim for a coffee to water ratio around 1:6. It's easiest to measure this by weight, so grab a kitchen scale if you have one.

For the best results, use 1 cup of coarsely ground coffee beans for every 4 cups of water. This ratio will give you a strong, full-bodied cold brew coffee. If you prefer a less intense flavor, you can use less coffee beans and more water. For example, you could use 1/2 cup of coffee beans for every 8 cups of water.

Now let me show you the actual Golden Ratios: 1:15 to 1:18 (coffee to water). In here is where most people find the coffee to be at that sweet spot, though there are a few exceptions, like with espresso, for example.

“Cold brew has a bolder flavor than iced coffee since the brewing process is longer whereas iced coffee is typically milder in taste,” says Corbin. Since cold brew yields a more intensely flavored coffee, Corbin suggests cutting it with a bit of water for a more balanced blend.

Can I use coffee grounds twice for cold brew? ›

Reusing coffee grounds will significantly decrease the concentration of your cold brew, meaning you end up with a weaker cup of coffee. The cold brew will also probably be more bitter, and it could take longer to brew. So, while you can technically reuse coffee grounds for cold brew, I wouldn't recommend it.

How do you make a good iced coffee? The key is to brew a strong coffee concentrate: I let mine steep overnight, then I strain it, and chill it. I don't add ice until I'm ready to drink my iced coffee; I don't want the ice cubes to melt and dilute it!

Yes, you can refrigerate hot coffee to make iced coffee. This is a quick way to make iced coffee if you don't have time for the coffee to cool down on its own. Simply transfer the hot coffee to a pitcher or container and place it in the refrigerator to cool down. Once completely cooled, pour over ice, and enjoy.

Make coffee ice cubes.

Let it sit for at least a few hours or overnight. Then, put the frozen coffee to good use. You can add the cubes to the cold coffee sitting in your fridge to guarantee it will never get watered down.

Using cold water as opposed to hot makes the extraction process much slower and actually more selective. The flavor of the coffee is extracted, but bitter compounds are left behind. This can also explain why Cold Brew contains less acid than when you use hot water.

For cold brew, you want to aim for a coffee to water ratio around 1:6. It's easiest to measure this by weight, so grab a kitchen scale if you have one. For example, if we want a liter of cold brew (1000ml or ~32 ounces), we'd weigh out 167 grams of coffee.

Use 4 Tbsp (22 g) of grounds for every cup (6 fl oz) of water. Fill the press with cold or room-temperature water. Gently stir the grounds a few times with a spoon.